***Standard Disclaimer Applies – So, I had a review or two that wanted to see the hard edge of Ranger back. I personally couldn't agree more…however, that's a different story. This story is a love story and about how Ranger and Stephanie handle to the day-to-day trials of marriage. For those of you who want to see a hard edge to Ranger, you're just going to have to wait until the trilogy!!! The things I have planned for Stephanie and Ranger are well…..it's going to be hard core – and that's all I'm gonna say about that. Hope you enjoy!!! Thanks, Angie – my own personal muse!

Chapter 5

"Seduction"

He heard the music before he opened the door and wondered what his lovely wife had up her sleeve. The vision that greeted him took his breath away. He leaned against the door frame and watched as she walked seductively towards him, the black silk of her robe shimmered in the candlelight.

Ranger stood in a trancelike state as she made her way across the room. When she reached him, she stood close without touching, just inhaling his scent. She took in the sight of him, raking her eyes hungrily over his body. When she had drunk her fill, she allowed herself to touch him, using only her face. She rubbed her face over his chest, then to his shoulder and up the curve of his neck ending with her cheek resting against his. With her mouth now close to his ear, she asked huskily, "Did you have a good day?" She saw him swallow and felt his nod. "I missed you."

Ranger held his hands to his sides, balled his fists. He knew that if he touched her now, he'd ruin her plans. He'd grown torturously hard the minute he saw her. It was always so, but tonight he thought he'd be able to drive nails with the hard on he was sporting. When she stepped back, ceasing the caressing of her face against his body, he almost whimpered out loud.

She gently took his hand and led him towards the bedroom. "I started you a shower and laid out something more comfortable for you to slip into."

He was incapable of speech, the sexiness of her outfit and sultriness of her voice was completely intoxicating. He finally allowed himself to touch her, but just her hair as he twirled a curl around his finger. "What do you have on under this?" He asked, indicating with his eyes the slinky robe that she wore.

She turned her face into his palm and nuzzled him, "Later." Then she gently pushed him towards the bedroom.

Ranger thought to himself, he may have set a new record for fastest shower in the world. He toweled dry and then retrieved the lounge pants she'd laid on the bed. As he slid into them, he realized where the silk robe came from. It was the matching piece to his lounge pants. Something about her wearing his clothes always gave him a slight thrill. For him, it made a statement of her comfort level and screamed 'Yours'.

She felt him as she always did, even before he entered the room. She turned from the window, allowing her eyes to drink in his beauty. His hair was still slightly damp from the shower and his sculpted abs, chest and arms left bare made her mouth water. Down girl.

He stalked her like prey, stopping when his body was a breath away from hers, just as she'd done to him earlier. She saw by the intensity of his eyes that he knew the name of this game. Seduction. He skimmed his hands up her arms, barely touching her. Gently she placed her hands on his hips, itching to grip them and pull him against her already aching body. But, she denied herself, drawing out the pleasure.

He cupped her face gently between his hands, drinking deeply of her loveliness before his lips covered hers, running his tongue over the crease, pleading for entrance.

She gave him access to the warmth of her mouth. As the kiss deepened, he moved to hold her waist as she simultaneously rested her arms around his neck. They began to sway to the music, lost in the feel of each other. She felt as though she was in the Dirty Dancing movie with all the bumping and grinding of their bodies.

When he dipped her low, she realized that he'd untied her robe and she dropped her hands to let it fall to the floor. Her head fell back and she moaned low as he caressed his palm down her exposed stomach. He brought her up quick and the desire flared between them like lava shooting up from a mountaintop.

He made the move again, this time swinging her low in a semi-circle, with his hand at her neck and his leg between hers. When he brought her upright, she felt the slither of silk slide down her body. "The lingerie was sexy as hell, but it was time for it to go."

She couldn't agree more as their bare chests touched and his hands splayed on her back. The tempo of the music changed and she rode out the rhythm against his leg, not the least bit embarrassed by the wet spot she left on the silk of his pants.

He stepped back, then spun her, pulling her against his chest. One arm stretched across her chest, fondling, while the other cupped her through her wet panties. "You're so wet….but I'm going to make wetter." He promised in his low timbre voice.

She gasped as he sunk his teeth into the curve of her neck, marking her. He had a flash of Morelli touching her arm and he growled under his breath, "Mine." He nibbled his way down her back, kneeling behind her between her legs. The sheer silk did nothing to hide the crack of her ass and the scalloped lace hugged the curves of her bottom lovingly.

Her knees nearly buckled when he ran the flat of his tongue along the edge of the hot, pink lace of her panties. When he darted the tip of his tongue under the lace, she came almost violently, her juices flowing down her leg.

He lapped up the juices that trickled towards his tongue. He wanted to see how many times he could make her cum, but knew he wouldn't last long enough to test that theory. She always managed to make him lose control, forgetting his goal.

He turned her so that he could tongue her through her panties, but decided to just get them out of his way so he slowly pulled them down her long legs. On his way to stand up, he peeled off his pants and then grasped her under her bottom to pick her up. With her legs wrapped around his waist and her mouth latched onto his neck, he made his way to the couch.

Stephanie placed her knees to the outside of his thighs and then she began to tease him, sliding her clit up and down against his length, spreading her wetness. He turned his attention to her perky breasts and took a dark nipple deep inside his mouth, swirling his tongue around the hard peek.

She came again as she rubbed against his straining cock. She rose slightly, and used her hand to help guide him into her heat. When she had him sheathed fully, she started to rock her hips back and forth, but he gripped her hips tightly and held her still.

"Babe, just…give…me a minute." He was panting hard, leaning his head back against the couch with his eyes closed. "You've got me so hard that if you move right now, I'm going to cum." His control was hanging on by a thread.

He always kept a tight reign on his control, to see that harness slip gave her a secret thrill. She decided to have mercy on him and laid her head into the curve of his neck, waiting for him to gain some control.

When she felt him move, she held on for the ride, pressing her mouth close to his ear. He pumped into her, alternating between short and shallow strokes to longer and deeper ones. When he went deep, she would scream his name and then when he slowed his movements she would purr her contentment. Once he'd gained control, his stamina was overwhelming. Just when she thought he was going to cum, he'd slow again and start the delicious process over again.

Normally, Stephanie was so swept up in the sensation of love making, that she couldn't think, much less talk during sex. However, tonight, it was as if she was drunk and with the high came a brazen boldness. She whispered against his ear, "I love it when you're inside me. Your cock is big and hard, filling me completely. When you fuck me, I go mad with desire and would do anything you ask. Oh, God, Ranger, I can't get enough of your dick inside me."

Holy Shit! He thought he'd been turned on before, when she was seducing him, but her talking dirty in his ear was HOT. As she continued to whisper suggestions to him, the blood pounded in his head. He twisted them on the couch until he was on top of her. All he could think about was how he needed to be deeper inside her.

She brought her leg to rest on top of the couch and spread herself wide, preparing for the assault she knew was coming. She'd briefly seen the lost expression in his eyes and knew he was about to take her to paradise. When his arms scooped underneath her ass and he buried his face in her neck, she grasped the armrest of the couch, bracing herself in anticipation.

He pounded into her hot, wet pussy with wild abandonment. When she screamed, 'fuck me….harder…fuck me, Ranger', he roared with the primal need to mate. When her tight walls clenched around his cock, he came hard and violent, before he collapsed with exhaustion on top of her. It was then that he realized that she'd lost consciousness. He had a brief moment of panic, unsure of what to do.

He pulled out and went to get a wet wash cloth. He bathed her face, whispering tender words of love as he pressed soft kisses everywhere, her eyelids, her mouth, her neck. When she moaned softly, he asked quietly, "Babe, are you okay?"

She opened her eyes to see the worry and then groaned shaking her head. "Doomsday," she sighed with elated exhaustion.

Later in the night, after making love several more times, she had a fleeting thought about the meal they'd left in the warmer. She giggled as her stomach roared to life.

Ranger rose onto his elbows, to take in the sight of her sprawled out naked and flat on her stomach. He knew what had her laughing, they'd forgotten all about dinner. "Babe, I know I've done my job well when I can make you forget about food."

She laughed some more and then rose to find their clothes. "C'mon, stud, my stomach is rebelling." When he didn't move, she looked up and saw the desire pooling in his eyes. She gaped, thinking no way he could be ready again, but the proof was evident under the sheet draped at his waist. He smiled smugly at the direction of her eyes.

"You can just wipe that look off your face. You're not getting anymore until I've had some food." He laughed and joined her in the search for clothes and dinner.

After eating, they decided to relax on the couch and watch a movie. Ranger played with the curls splayed across his chest and wondered how to broach the subject of Joe.

She turned her head, "I can smell the something burning. What's on your mind?"

He squeezed her gently, "Babe, I'm going to talk to Morelli. I don't think that today was the last he'll have to say on the subject and I won't have him causing a scene with you every time the two of you see each other."

She could feel a little temper bubbling below the surface, but didn't really want to spoil the mood of the evening. She stood and walked to stand by the window, crossing her arms over her chest. Looking, but not really seeing the street below. She didn't want to think that Ranger was like all the other men of her past, controlling and domineering. "Do you think that I can't handle the situation with Joe? Or is it that you don't trust me to be alone with him?" She tried hard to keep her voice level, but the hurt still managed to come through in her tone.

He knew he'd stepped in it and backtracked through what he'd said. Seeing nothing he'd change, he started again. "Babe…," when she didn't turn, he started again, "Steph." She finally turned and he could see the hurt in her eyes, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what he'd said so wrong.

He stood from the couch and started to step toward her, but halted when she took a step back. He sighed, yep, he'd definitely stepped in it. Now, the question was, how exactly did he get out of it? "Babe, it's not that I don't trust you. It's just that you and Joe have so much history; history that you and I don't have. I can only tell you how I'd feel if the shoe was on the other foot. If you'd come back, married to him, talking to you wouldn't help. In fact, talking to you would put both of us in a position of breaking something that I feel is sacred, marriage vows."

He stalked toward her, because now he was a little angry that she couldn't see it from his point of view. "If you'd married him, it would've torn me apart, but it wouldn't stop me from wanting you and from trying at every opportunity to touch you. If Joe feels half of that, then talking to you isn't going to be enough. I just thought, if I talked to him, man to man, that he'd back off from causing a scene every time your paths cross."

She could see the sincerity in his eyes, that he trusted her and was just trying to make a bad situation better. She uncrossed her arms from her chest and heaved a big sigh.

When he saw she no longer held herself in a defensive stance, he took that as his opportunity and moved in swiftly, pulling her into his arms. "Babe, I'm not trying to control you. I'm just going to talk to Joe, set some boundaries."

She harrumphed, "More like mark your territory?" When he went still as a statue, she knew she'd hit the nail on the head. "Did you think that I didn't know what that kiss was all about this afternoon in the truck?"

He relaxed when he realized that her tone was lighter, almost teasing. "And that bothers you?" He pressed a light kiss to the dark bruise he'd left on her neck earlier.

She shook her head, "As long as you understand that it's a two way street. If some harlot shows up, putting her paws all over you, it won't be pretty."

He pulled her close, resting his cheek against hers, "Are we good?" He felt her smile against his cheek and the quick nod as she leaned in closer.

"Yeah, we're good…we survive our first marital disagreement without bloodshed." She saw his wolf grin and couldn't help but smile herself.

"You know what this means?" He rubbed his hard member against the juncture between her thighs.

"Oh, yeah,….make-up sex!" Her hormones were already doing a victory dance.

He backed her into the bedroom, pulling off articles of clothing as they went. By the time she felt her legs hit the bed, he had them both completely naked and panting with need. They fell to the bed in a tangle of limbs, groping for each other in a heated rush to fulfill their desires.